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COVID-19

Covid vaccination in Stockholm: More than 6,600 slots remain open for over-75s

This week there are still thousands of open vaccination slots in Stockholm for those who are eligible.

Published: 7 April 2021 17:21 CEST
Covid vaccination in Stockholm: More than 6,600 slots remain open for over-75s
Vaccinations of over-75s are currently under way in Stockholm. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

Two weeks ago the Stockholm region started vaccinating persons born 1946 or earlier.

This week there are more than 6,600 open vaccination slots for the age group.

Magnus Thyberg, vaccination coordinator for the Stockholm region, in a statement on Wednesday encouraged everyone who meets the requirements to get vaccinated, saying: “We have a quick pace with vaccinations right now and I want to encourage those that have the possibility to book a slot at one of our four vaccination surgeries which have a capacity of over 10,000 slots this week.”

The surgeries are located in suburbs Älsvjö, Täby, Solna and Stockholm inner city. Vaccination slots are booked through the app Alltid Öppet and Swedish identification BankID is required when booking – however your local health centre can help if you are unable to or don’t want to use BankID.

There are no drop-in slots, so you need to book a place. The vaccination is free for everyone, including foreign nationals in Sweden.

Letters are also being sent to those between the ages of 75 and 79, with instructions on how to book a Covid-19 vaccine.

The vaccination process is currently in what has been called Phase 2 in Sweden.

Phase 3 will include the age group 60 to 64, and all adults who belong to a risk group. This phase is expected to start in April in Stockholm.

Phase 4, which includes everyone else over the age of 18, is expected to start in May, having previously been pushed back.

The Stockholm region was previously criticised for having a large amount of unused slots during the Easter break.

In an interview with the Expressen newspaper, Thyberg cited the opening hours as a potential reason for the low interest in appointments, with weekend mornings left with many unused slots. He said no vaccines were wasted despite the low levels of vaccinations during the break. 

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COVID-19

Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

Sweden's Public Health Agency is recommending that those above the age of 80 should receive two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn, as it shifts towards a longer-term strategy for the virus.

Published: 23 December 2022 10:53 CET
Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

In a new recommendation, the agency said that those living in elderly care centres, and those above the age of 80 should from March 1st receive two vaccinations a year, with a six month gap between doses. 

“Elderly people develop a somewhat worse immune defence after vaccination and immunity wanes faster than among young and healthy people,” the agency said. “That means that elderly people have a greater need of booster doses than younger ones. The Swedish Public Health Agency considers, based on the current knowledge, that it will be important even going into the future to have booster doses for the elderly and people in risk groups.” 

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People between the ages of 65 and 79 years old and young people with risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, poor kidney function or high blood pressure, are recommended to take one additional dose per year.

The new vaccination recommendation, which will start to apply from March 1st next year, is only for 2023, Johanna Rubin, the investigator in the agency’s vaccination programme unit, explained. 

She said too much was still unclear about how long protection from vaccination lasted to institute a permanent programme.

“This recommendation applies to 2023. There is not really an abundance of data on how long protection lasts after a booster dose, of course, but this is what we can say for now,” she told the TT newswire. 

It was likely, however, that elderly people would end up being given an annual dose to protect them from any new variants, as has long been the case with influenza.

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